C-Suite Intelligence

HR has changed dramatically over the last few years, growing well beyond recruiting and development. Jeff Vijungco – the former Chief People Officer at Rubrik and VP of Global Talent at Adobe, and now Partner at One North Talent – joins The Miles Group COO Taylor Griffin and Managing Director Samantha Smith to discuss the changing landscape of the industry and the needs of today’s Chief People Officers, senior talent executives, and CEOs.

Frustration among leaders is mounting when it comes to the overall effectiveness and collective performance of their leadership teams. Amplified by the shift to the virtual world, the transition has lowered shared context while increasing the default to individual executives executing in their own lanes. As a result, companies and leadership teams became more vertical and less horizontal, decreasing the sense of team, and increasing the cost of coordination. CEO Stephen Miles and COO Taylor Griffin focus on the areas where leaders can lower the cost of coordination in order to better establish high-performing leadership teams.

Special guest Tom Williams discusses key issues CEOs are facing today – and will face tomorrow. Executive chairman and former CEO of Parker Hannifin, the multi-billion-dollar, Fortune 250 global leader in motion and control technologies, Tom joins TMG CEO Stephen Miles to discuss leadership challenges such as driving productivity during high inflation, performance optimization, and utilizing AI.

Employees crave feedback on how to improve their performance, but according to workplace surveys, most say they don’t get it. Taylor Griffin and Samantha Smith suggest asking for advice, not feedback. Advice changes the content from backward-looking and often negative to something that is forward-looking and framed in a more constructive, developmental manner.

The world is less predictable – for many leaders and people inside companies, it’s hard and stressful. TMG CEO Stephen Miles and featured guest, Oracle EVP Rob Tarkoff, continue their discussion about how best to lead in stress events; the importance of “high context” leaders; building organizational capacity; and using resilience as a learning opportunity. 

TMG CEO Stephen Miles invites a special guest, Oracle EVP Rob Tarkoff, to explore the preparedness playbook for leaders in difficult times. In this first of a 2-part series, they share their thoughts on performance leadership, rethinking basic assumptions, the necessity of triangulation, the importance of high content friction and low behavioral friction, and more.

CEOs and executives are facing a tsunami of real-time change – at a pace and velocity never seen before. Stephen Miles and Taylor Griffin discuss the leadership tools needed in today’s environment to create flexible and adaptable companies and cultures, so that change is something leaders can take on successfully and with confidence.

The go-to podcast for high performers and aspiring leaders is back for a third season. Hear CEO Stephen Miles, COO Taylor Griffin, and top executive coaches at The Miles Group and their special guests discuss how to thrive through impending recession and systemic inflation, how to build operating models that are flexible and adaptable, why ultimate high-performing leadership teams reduce friction, and more.

One of the most important elements of being a high performance, high growth executive is identifying ways to reduce behavioral friction. These “low friction” leaders line up to stakeholders’ preferences and styles. Stephen Miles and Taylor Griffin discuss common examples of behaviorial friction, and explain how low friction leadership can lead to exponential growth and create leadership opportunities for executives.

Most founders and executives are so deeply immersed in their business model and products that they forget about themselves – their own personal growth as a leader. Everybody talks about business growth or the exponential growth of an organization, but personal growth is just as important, say Stephen Miles and Taylor Griffin. The research is clear that when a founder can effectively scale with the company, shareholder returns tend to be high. There must be commitment to personal growth. It’s an ongoing and continuous activity, not just for yourself, but also for the organization and the teams you lead.

Even though they can be inspirational, motivational, and passionate, many Silicon Valley leaders lack the right performance-driven toolkit to achieve success in every economic environment. Rob Tarkoff, EVP of Oracle, joins Stephen Miles and Taylor Griffin to describe the kind of “ambidextrous” nature VCs look for in executives – the combination of a potential-driven mindset with the performance-driven aspects of bootstrapping and doing more with less.

Operating in highly complex and dynamic environments, the best CEOs maintain alignment with their teams by communicating frequently, collaborating effectively, and prioritizing routinely. Good process delivers good outcomes, say Stephen Miles and Taylor Griffin, and if you take the time to thoughtfully recalibrate and refocus teams with constant context, you can create a culture and environment where everyone can win together.

As layoffs hit the tech sector, Stephen Miles and Taylor Griffin discuss how companies need to pivot from potential to performance. We’ve seen valuations come down at a catastrophic level that nobody could have ever imagined, say Miles and Griffin. They explain how the sudden change redefines expectations for leaders, who may need to refocus their teams on their core business – that “original wicked idea” that got them there.

Unlocking performance inside an organization requires delivering real outcomes, not just a proliferation of activities, say Stephen Miles and Taylor Griffin.  This can prove difficult in our new multivariate and asynchronous operating environment. Miles and Griffin discuss how “executing for outcomes” can help refocus and reorient teams in turbulent, highly complex times.

There are three levels of leadership awareness that are critical for any leader, or aspiring leader: self-awareness (MeQ), one-to-one leadership (EmQ), and one-to-many leadership (SocQ), which includes the broader social context and environment. Taylor Griffin and Courtney Hamilton discuss why today’s “social economy” compels leaders to develop a more nuanced awareness toward various stakeholders and audiences, both within the company and without.

High-potential employees are easy to spot – they’re usually quick on the uptake, light on their feet, and have a high capacity for growth. Leaders are attracted to hiring people who they believe will grow into roles, however, they don’t always invest the proper training to get them there. Taylor Griffin and Courtney Hamilton discuss how leaders can ultimately build out a mosaic of talent across their team that’s going to meet the needs of the business today and the business of tomorrow.

Conversations around developing an effective executive presence tend to focus heavily on “leadership” but not enough on “followership.” Most executives are followers long before they are leaders. For Stephen Miles and Taylor Griffin, good followership requires understanding your own style and making sure it complements both your boss's and your teammates' styles. And that is critical to becoming a good leader.

Introvert or Extrovert; Thinker or Blinker – one is not better than the other when it comes to elevating your executive presence. Rather, it’s about mastering your personal leadership style to show up as the best version of yourself. Stephen Miles and Taylor Griffin explore the differences between these various styles and discuss how high-performing executives can add range to their style so they can better know themselves and show up appropriately and with confidence.

Many executives who have been working from home during Covid may need a wardrobe and executive appearance refresh. Yet the challenge for most leaders who receive feedback around their executive presence is that their sartorial style is fine. Stephen Miles and Taylor Griffin discuss how real executive presence extends far beyond dress, to the substance of executives’ contributions and their ability to both elevate and adapt their styles to new challenges, reporting relationships, and colleagues.

No matter where you work or whatever industry you are in, being best at the “people business” can help you succeed. When talent management is as critical to your company’s long-term goals as it is to your short-term bottom line, you need a team you can rely on, and one that can rely on you, too. Stephen Miles and Taylor Griffin explain steps leaders can take to set their people up for success.